Accession Number

2012.007.002.047

Description

Black and white postcard of a stone wall covered in vines with two statues of sleeping lions in the foreground and behind a turret and the corner of a building.

Narrative

The lion statues depicted in this photograph are on a terrace in the gardens to the east of Torosay Castle on the Isle of Mull, Scotland. These and other statues in the gardens are in the style of 18th century Italian sculptor, Antonio Bonazza. Torosay Castle was completed in 1858 and at the time this image was taken, was owned by the Guthrie family.

As indicated by the inscription, this is one of a series of postcards depicting scenes of Torosay Castle. An inscription on the back indicates that this postcard was mailed by Mrs. Elizabeth Maud Hope (aka Bessie Dunsmuir) to her mother, Mrs. Laura Miller Dunsmuir. Her message states that the lions remind her of the two lion statues on the Neptune Steps at the north entrance to her mother's home, Hatley Park.
 

History of Use

This picture postcard was mailed in 1929 and later placed in an album created by the James and Laura Dunsmuir family at Hatley Park. Together with a local Victoria postmark, dated January 4, 1929, is a stamp stating that 2 cents are owed for postage. A purple Canada 2 cent postage stamp is affixed to the centre top of the postcard back. 

Some of the images of Hatley Park in the album show minimal landscaping, suggesting those photos date from when the house was newly completed, around 1910. At least one of the album's photographs was used as a post card and a postmark on the back shows a date of 1929, giving an approximate date range for the photographs in the album.

Sometime after Laura Miller Dunsmuir's death in 1937, the album became the property of Dola Frances Dunsmuir (also known as Mrs. Dola Cavendish) and was kept at her house Dolaura in Colwood, B.C. After her death, the album was owned by her sister Kathleen's daughter, Judith Humphreys (also known as Mrs. Judith Joy). Her daughter donated the album to Craigdarroch Castle in 2012.

Date

1929

Dimensions

8.5 x 13.6 cm

Inscription

Lower left:
13. The Terrace, Torosay Castle
Verso:
This reminds one of Hatley! We leave tomorrow for [?]. All had a lovely time. Love from Bess. 

 

Country of Origin

Scotland